Rhythm Triangle

Listen to “Barlow Girl” by Superchic[k]. Do you hear that rhythm triangle?

How about “Shackles” by Mary Mary? Yep, it’s there.

The sound of rhythm triangle (actual instrument or samples) gives sparkle and drive to electronica, hip-hop, smooth jazz, loops-based compositions as well as being a staple of Brazilian Baion music.

Rhythm Triangle parts are composed of various permutations of open (ringing) and closed (non-ringing) sounds.

This traditional triangolo part is transcribed from the playing of my former student, Pablo Motta from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.                                                                                       Sometimes I play rhythm triangle holding two beaters in one hand allowing one beater to strike the triangle just before the other . The slight flamming produces a subtle effect different from using a single beater. A standard triangle clip works fine with the clip resting on top of the thumb and index finger. The palm and remaining fingers are used to “squeeze” the triangle for the closed sound.

                                                                                                                                                          

               


The Trigger Triangle from Rhythm Tech   (www.rhythmtech.com/) holds the triangle securely and prevents the slight “after strike movement” that comes with the use of the standard clip. The open/close sounds are controlled easily with just the index finger.

The One Handed Triangle from Latin Percussion (www.lpmusic.com/) gives the player the ability to play open/close rhythms using a back and forth shaking motion…with one hand!



Percussion Tips Launch

Percussion Tips (my new service to humanity) launches this week !    Quick (140 characters or less) advice on concert, hand percussion, drum set, rudimental, musicianship, etc...
Get it on your computer or phone at:  
www.facebook.com/MarkSheltonPerc and www.Twitter.com/MarkSheltonPerc

Bongos Anomalous

Here is an unorthodox tone production technique for the bongos. Spread your fingers slightly and tilt your hand so that the pinky strikes the bongo head first and is followed by the ring, the middle, and the index striking one after the other in rapid succession. It is a loose flop. The first three finger strikes are grace notes leading to the index finger main note. Allow the fingers to rest for a split second to mute the head. (Think of it as a brush sound.) Try playing alternating 16^th notes with this technique and throw in some accents.
You’ll find a place for this sound.

Caleb Jobe Interview

A product of the award winning percussion program at Colleyville Heritage (TX) High School, Caleb Jobe brings solid playing and creative ideas to his current position as percussionist with Dove award winning artist, Kari Jobe.

I was intrigued with his choices of gear and decided that an interview would be of interest to Percussion For Worship readers.


Mark: How long have you been playing with the Kari Jobe Band?
Caleb: About four years…I’m full time except when I have school obligations (Dallas Baptist University).
Mark: I understand that you’ve played both drumset and percussion in the band.
Caleb: I’ve played a few times on drumset but mainly I play percussion.
Mark: You were telling me about your set-up. It’s rather unique. How about some details?
Caleb: It is pretty unique. There is a 22” X 18” bass drum mounted on a keyboard stand. I play it with timpani mallets. It’s miked in back with a kick drum microphone (SM 91 or similar). I use a 14” X 9” snare drum and there’s also a cajon, a few shakers, and occasionally a glockenspiel.
Mark: How did you arrive at this instrumentation?
Caleb: I used to play a more typical set-up with congas, djemebe, etc… but eventually I wanted to duplicate the loops from the recording. That led me to develop this set-up.
Mark: How’s it working?
Caleb: Most groups that are appearing at events with the KJB are not using a percussionist. So the audience is seeing and hearing a little something different and the reaction is positive.
Mark: What’s your favorite breakfast cereal?
Caleb: …definitely frosted flakes.

Session Prep Pays

Hey Mark,

What would you charge me for recording at my studio for:
A one hour session
A two hour session
A three hour session?

The question came in an email from a producer for whom I had played a couple of live events. After my reply regarding rates, we set a time for recording percussion at his studio.

Later in the week, the producer emailed a “rough recording” of the song. After downloading the tune onto my iPod, I listened to the song several times. The “rough” contained no vocals but as I listened, the form and major melodies began to become apparent to me. It was then easy to make a “skeleton chart” of the song on manuscript paper so that I could mark the measures where the major sections of the song began and ended.

The tap tempo feature on my Boss Dr. Beat DB66 metronome (http://www.bossus.com/) informed me that the song was recorded at a consistent bpm of 95. I set my Beatnik Rhythmic Analyzer (http://www.tuners.com/ ) to 95, grabbed some sticks, and began to warm up. (I wanted to ingrain that tempo and subdivisions into my brain and hands.)

Listening to the recording several more times with the “skeleton chart” and pencil at the ready, some ideas about instrument choices and parts sprang to mind and were added to the paper.

The session was scheduled for 1:00 P.M. so I left my home in time to arrive at the studio by 12:30. The producer seemed grateful that I was early and impressed that I had concocted a chart.

My chart also contained approximate times (min/sec) where major sections started. With this information handy, it was easy to tell the producer/engineer to skip ahead to certain min/sec areas as we recorded, thereby saving time for everyone.

The producer wanted to record parts for several instruments and choose segments to use later as he mixed. The time spent in preparation paid off as we recorded parts for congas, tambourine, shaker, rhythm triangle, Chinese bell tree, suspended cymbal, and more in about 1 ¾ hours.

Certainly there are studio situations when there is no recording (or chart) to study before the session. However, when such materials are available, take advantage of the opportunity to prepare thoroughly.

I think this guy might call me again.

Mastering The Tables Of Time

On the shuttle ride to the airport, a piece of luggage fell and struck me. (No harm done!) However, the incident started a conversation with another passenger, David Stanoch, author of Mastering The Tables Of Time. Upon departing the bus, David presented me with a copy of his amazing book. Whether beginner or pro, drumset player or percussionist, material abounds to challenge and improve your skills. You’ll find exercises with applications for playing time, coordination, polyrhythms, and soloing. http://www.rhythmelodic.com/

How can I play all this...by myself ?!

With Christmas just around the corner and those cantatas and spectaculars looming, you might find yourself looking at a percussion part that was intended to be played by a section and instead…it’s just YOU ! Aside from growing an extra set of arms from your stomach, your next best choice is to figure out what to play and what to delete. You might try to ask the conductor (who is still pre-occupied with that near-mishap with the flying angel at the tech rehearsal). Asking the maestro will sometimes yield a quick, “Just try to play as much as you can.”


Make plans and mark the part before the rehearsal but stay open to any in-the-moment directions from the leader during the rehearsal.

Some parts may be doubled by other instruments.
EX. The timpani line covered by the string bass and /or tuba
EX. Glockenspiel or xylophone playing unison with woodwinds
Those percussion parts are good candidates for deletion.

Certain parts may be providing the driving rhythms.
Try to include these.

Cymbals and triangle give an ensemble sparkle and ring.Look for spots that need that effect.

Some instruments help to set the mood or establish a place.
A tambourine would take precedent over bass drum in an “Eastern European” sounding passage.
If you are playing an arrangement of “I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day” and there is a part for chimes... Play that before anything else.
Nothing gives a military feel better than the snare drum.

To cover multiple instruments, be ready to make some sacrifices.
Play drums with hard plastic mallets so that you can move quickly to that glock lick.
Substitute suspended cymbal for crash cymbals and you can combine that with the snare drum part.
It only requires one hand to play the MOUNTED tambourine; the other is free to play another instrument.

Take care to devise a set-up that will allow you to move quickly and GRACEFULLY from one instrument to another. Sketch the set-up so that you can recreate it at the performance.

God Be Praised / Gateway Worship

God Be Praised (Deluxe) from Gateway Worship is currently #7 on the iTunes Christian & Gospel chart. Thomas Miller, Walker Beach, and the team from Gateway have produced a “live” album with a “really live” feel.

It is an honor to be a part of this recent release. There are ample amounts of percussion from  my percussion colleague, Mark Levy and lil' ol' me. Click the  widget below for more info (including some samples).

                         www.gatewaywidget.com

 Listen for the rainstick in a couple of spots in “O The Blood.” …that’s me!

PASIC 2010

The Percussive Arts Society International Convention took place last week in Indianapolis. It was four days full of new gear, old friends, networking, inspiring performances, and the fun that can come from a few thousand drummers getting together.

Here I am with Bart Elliot (Nashville drummer and purveyor of drummercafe.com).

Since the early 80’s, my headed tambourine of choice has been manufactured by Grover Pro Percussion. Click this link (http://bit.ly/aULTnZ ) to find me at the Grover booth with the Heat-Treated Silver Dry 8” Tambourine.

Neil Grover (percussionist with the Boston Pops & owner of Grover Pro Percussion) and lil’ ol’ me.

And...I got out of bed and made it over to the 7:00 A.M. Breakfast Meeting of Fellowship of Christian Percussionists. 

PASIC 2011 will be held again in Indianapolis. For more info: www.pas.org

Mark Tree

More than a one trick pony…

Aren’t you glad that studio musician, Mark Stevens invented the mark tree back in the late 60‘s? Also know as bar chimes, the mark tree can help set an ethereal mood, wash into a half-time section, or sweep the music into a modulation.

The instrument is capable of more than the oft-used stereotypical high to low glissando.
 You can…

• Glissando low to high
• Glissando using a light touch with a triangle beater
• Start in the middle with both hands and move outward in both directions slowly
• Produce a burst of sound using both hands to quickly set all the cylinders in motion
• Create a wind chimes effect ---gently moving the cylinders into one another

Resist the temptation to overuse the mark tree. Keeping this timbre rare maximizes the effect of its shimmering beauty.
When you invest in a mark tree, get a long one …and a supply of replacement ties!

Legato Shaker

During a recording session, I was using the Soft Shake from Latin Percussion (www.lpmusic.com/). I had been playing it in a conventional manner. The producer suddenly asked me to turn the shaker so that an end was toward me (as shown in the photo). Though slightly skeptical, I complied and immediately heard the difference. There was less attack in the sound and more length to each note. The length of this particular shaker is rather short so that you can control the rhythmic flow of the fill (beads) in this position. The “more legato” sound fit well in the song we were recording and I continue to use this technique when appropriate. This is one that requires close proximity to the microphone.

Which backbeat to play?

...2 or 4?

Doubling the snare drum back beat with a single strike on the tambourine is quite common and can give some variety to the groove. I usually choose one backbeat or the other; seldom do I play both 2 and 4. Less tedium and greater variety occurs when the snare drum is heard alone on one of the beats and the doubled sound on the other. Sometimes my choice is arbitrary but often I make a studied decision based on the lyrics of the song.


Listen to the phrasing of the lyrics and you will often find less vocal activity around either beat 2 or beat 4. Playing on that back beat allows the tambourine’s tone color to do its job without competing with the vocals.

Both lyric and tambourine get their space.

Chajchas

What are those things?

Really?

A staple of Andean folk music, the chajchas consist of goat hooves sewn to cloth loops. The chajchas produce a warm, earthy, clattering rattle (to my ear). The loops are traditionally worn around the wrist (like bracelets) so that a player can also play a bombo (drum) and chajchas together. I tape a couple of loops together, grasp the whole clump, and play downbeats with a quick downward flick of the wrist.

                     Some chajchas ideas:

• When the drumset is laying down an ethno-groove on the toms, try bringing out the chajchas on some simple downbeats.
• Play the backbeat (sparingly).
• Shake the hooves for an ethereal effect.

Rock Cowbell

Tulp  Tulp  Tulp  Tulp

Sometimes that four to a bar / downbeat cowbell is just what the song needs. You hear it in so many styles...Rock, Funk, Pop, R&B. In contrast to many Latin styles where the cowbell has a more open / ringing sound, the Rock cowbell sound is generally a dry tone. I once read the tone described as “tulp.”

Grip the cowbell with the subdominant hand with the open end of the bell up and away from your body. The instrument rests in your hand so that the fingers and thumb are gripping the sides and the flat bottom rests against your palm. This grip allows you to achieve a dry sound with the palm stopping vibrations. If you need an open sound, drop your palm away from the bell (with fingers and thumb still clutching the bell on the sides).

If a consistent dry sound is needed, I sometimes grip the bell with fingers on the bottom (flat area) and my thumb on top of the playing surface. This grip allows me to apply some pressure for that “tulp.”

Strike the cowbell with the side of the stick (rather than the end) across the edge of the mouth. This seems to bring out more fundamental and less highs.

Go for the tulp!

Stickball

Why didn’t I think of that?

Don’t try to tape a shaker egg to a drumstick. Stop playing the cowbell with a maraca. The Stickball from Rhythm Tech (http://www.rhythmtech.com/) slides quickly and securely onto a range of shaft sizes and instantly allows you to add a shaker sound to a stick or mallet.
The video on the June 16, 2010 posting contains some Stickball playing.
 
Click on this link for Drummer Café (http://bit.ly/djC4qJ)  for a video review of the Stickball. 

 

 

Invest in a couple of Stickballs

...a creativity catalyst!

Clean up the shaker attack

Do you ever notice some extraneous sound in that split second before you actually want the first shaker note to sound? You are probably giving the shaker a preparatory flick to bring the fill (beads) into the ready position area opposite the initial striking side. That “pre-attack” swish can mar the quality of a shaker track (or require some time with the digital editor).

You can eliminate most of the extrinsic clatter by simply bending your wrist so that the fill slides and settles into that ready position. If your first attack motion is away from your body, bend your wrist so that your thumb is closer to parallel to the floor and the fill in the shaker is resting right over your thumb. If your first attack is toward your body, bend your wrist so that your fingers are more parallel to the floor. When the rhythmic moment comes, use a normal shaker motion and the fill will move cleanly from its ready position and slap the striking area with a more precise sound.

Forte-piano Timpani Roll

Get Sneaky.

You can find the forte-piano timpani roll in hymn arrangements, oratorios, Brooklyn Tabernacle orchestrations, and many more church music styles.

If your usual method has been to play a loud roll and quickly bring the roll volume down, try this approach for a better tone (and less work).

• Play a single forte stroke. The volume level of the resulting tone will begin to drop.
• While the head is still ringing, bring in a soft roll under the volume of the ringing tone produced by the initial stroke.
• With some practice, you can sneak in so that the beginning of the piano roll is masked by the sound of the decaying forte stroke.

Clave Rhythms

Clave patterns serve as rhythmic organizers in several Latin American and African styles of music. There are Bossa Nova, Afro-Cuban 6/8, Rhumba, Son claves and more! One of the more common is the Son clave. This five note pattern can be played in two versions, 3-2 and 2-3.

When playing in the rhythm section, it is crucial to know if a clave-based song is 3-2 or 2-3. This knowledge assists the players in selecting note groupings. Everyone should be playing “in clave.”

One way to determine the clave is to clap the 3-2 version while singing the melody of the song and repeat the melody with the 2-3 version. One of the clave rhythms will probably fit and feel better. (This suggestion comes from the book, Salsa Session by B. Sulsbruck, H. Beck, and W. Hansen.)

Claves

Stay loose!

Claves may have originated with sailors using pegs from ship masts for musical accompaniment. Traditionally made of rosewood, the bright tone of the claves can cut through some dense musical textures.

Hold the striker clave in your dominant hand (in a loose matched grip). For the stationary clave, curl your fingers of your other hand in towards your palm with the thumb resting against the side of the index finger. You are forming a little echo chamber for the clave to resonate.

Lay the clave over your echo chamber and you are ready to play.
Gripping either clave tightly will inhibit vibrations. You will know when the grips are correct when the claves respond with a characteristically resonant tone. Stay loose (grip-wise)…and check back for a post about clave rhythms.

Cabasa

• Strike it.      
• Scrape it.
• Shake it.
• Tap it for staccato.
• Slide the beads for legato.  

       Lots of possibilities with the cabasa!

     Experiment with these patterns: